Coin-controlled mechanism.



Patented July 27, 1915.

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mars sATns is BENJAMIN n. MORSE, or cANToN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIsNo'n o ASEPTIO snrtvion' coMPANY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A oonPonATroN or MAINE.

COIN-CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

Application filed February 13, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BENJAMIN E. Mouse, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Canton, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin- Controlled Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a mechanism adapted to transmit motion through an interposed coin and constructed so as to be inoperative except when a coin is placed in a designated position between relatively movable parts of the mechanism.

The object of the invention has been to furnish a simple and eflicient coin-controlled device adapted, among other uses, to be used in operating the lock or latch of a door. The embodiment chosen for illustration of the invention in this application is therefore designed with particular reference to its applicability for that particular use, but it is to be understood that in so illustrating the invention 1 have not intended to limit the invention to that use or to exclude protection for any embodiment of the essential idea of the invention adapted to serve any use.

I will now describe the herein illustrated embodiment of the invention in connection with the drawings which accompany and form a part of this application.

Figure 1- of the drawings represents an elevation of the exterior of my device or mechanism as applied to a door in connection with a lock on such door. 2 is a plan view of the same showing a part of the door and a part of the door jamb in section. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section on an enlarged scale taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is an elevation on a larger scale showing the casing in which the mechanism is contained in its open position and Showing the parts of the mechanism which are mounted on dilierent portions of such casing. Fig. 5 is a similar View of the upper part of the casing alone, wlth the moving parts of the mechanism, except the springs, removed. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the parts at the left of line 6-6 in Fig. 3, the part which is cut by such line being shown in section. Fig. 7 is a detailed cross section on line 7--7 of Fig. 6 looking downwardly.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Julyfltt, 1915. Serial No. 7,956.

As previously indicated one of the" uses of my invention is that of operating the lock of a door. I have found in practice that it is desirable, as for example in connection with rooms and closets, entrance to which is prevented by a coin-controlled lock on" the door, that the handle for the outside of the door should be capable of being operated more than once to unlock the door after deposit of the coin, so as to avoid use of a second coin in case the door should accidentally close before the person depositing the coin has had an opportunity to enter; and that it should be possible to unlock the door from the inside withoutrequiring the deposit of a coin, while the unlocking of the door from the inside should make the deposit of another coin necessary before the door can again be unlocked from the outside. This is particularly the case in connection with doors which are automatically closed and locked. Accordingly I have pr0- duced a mechanism, which, when applied to a door having a latch bolt, may be operated.

from one side of the door any number of times after depositing a single coin "to with draw the bolt, but can not be again so o erated after the bolt hasbeen once withdrawn by operation on the other side of thedo-orl In the herein illustrated embodiment of the invention the operating coin controlled mechanism is mounted in a casing or bolt which consists of a body 10 and a cover 11 hinged to the body by hinges 12. The body of the box is equipped with screw holes 13 to admit screws or bolts for attaching it to a door, or other support, the screws which pass through such holes being one form of means for securing the boX in the-place of its use. In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown the box mounted on one side of a door 14, such door being shown in Fig. 2 in connection with a jamb 15; and having mounted upon it a lock 17 consisting in part of a beveled latch bolt 18 adapted to co-actwith a socket 19 on the door jamb fonlocking the door automatically whenever the door is closed.

In the body of the box and preferably formed integral with its back Wallis provided a tubular boss 20, and a similar boss 21 is provided in rigid connection with the outer wall of the cover. These bossesprovide bearings for shanks 'or shafts 22 and 23, respectively, the former passing through the lock and being engaged with the latch bolt 18, and having an operating handle 2 1, and

the other shank having an operating handle near to one another.

25. The shank 22 is coupled in any desired Way with the latch bolt 18 so that when rotated it will retract such bolt. I have not shown the connection between the shank and bolt because such connection forms no part of my invention and I may use any of the forms of connection already known and used for the purpose. The particular shank 22 here shown is designed to be substituted for the ordinary squared knob shank used in all ordinary forms of door lock to which a knob or handle is attached for retracting the usual latch. Thus, rotation of the shank '22 by means of the handle 24 or by other means will retract the latch bolt 18.

The shanks 22 and 23 are approximately in line and turn about approximately the same axis,and their inner ends terminate On the end of the shank 22 is mounted a head 26 and on the 'tric to, the ab0ve-identified common axis.

adjacent end of shank 23 is mounted a head 27, each head having a fiat face at its end and a shoulder (32 on head 26, and 33 on "head 27) projecting outwardly from such face and atone side of the 'axisthereof.

' When the heads are in their normal relation the shoulders 32 and 33 are on opposite sides of the common axis of the heads and shanks,

and converge downwardly, the upper ends of the shoulders being separated by a distance greater, and their lower ends by a distance less, than the diameter of the coin designed to operate the mechanism; and the adjacent flat faces of'the heads between the lines of said shoulders are separated by a distance enough greater than the thickness of such coin to admit the coin without binding. Thus a coin-receiving space 28 is provided, which is wide enough to admit the coin, but not to permit the coin to pass through it, while the point in the space at which the bounding shoulders are tangent to the rim of the coin is below, that is eccen- The upper partsof the adjacent faces of the heads are beveled at 29 and 30 to form a wide mouth with converging guide walls, to

the space 28, and a slot 31 is formed in the casing above such mouth; whereby a coin dropped through the slot 31 may enter the space 28, and will lodge in contact with both shoulders in somewhat the position indicated by the com 34 m Fig. 6, in a position eccentric to, the aXis ofthe shanks.

spring is under such stress as normally to hold the lug 37, or an adjustable stop screw 38 which is threaded through said lug, in engagement with the rib 36, thereby locating the shoulder 32 of this head in the desired position. The other head 27 has a lug or stop projection 39 (see Fig. 4) between complemental angularly separated stops or ribs 10 and 41 on the boss 21. Spring 42 surrounds the boss 21 and is engaged or connected at its opposite ends 42 and $2" with the stop elements .10 and 39, respectively. The stress under which this spring is placed normally holds the stop 39 against the stop 11, when the shoulder 33 is in the position and has the inclination shown, but it permits yieldingly resisted movement of the head until arrested by the stop 39 contacting with the stop l0. Said stop 10 is placed where it will arrest the rotation of head 27 before shoulder 33 can engage shoulder 32 of head 26, and so prevent operation of the mechanism to withdraw the latch bolt except when a coin has been placed in the coin-receiving space 28, as above described.

In the normal condition of the mechanism the cover 11 of the casing is closed upon the body 10 and the heads 26 and 27 are then placed face to face and near together, with the shoulders 32 and 33 arranged with respect to each other as shown in Figs. 3, 6, and 7, the angular position of the heads being determined by the stops and springs with which they are equipped. If new a coin is dropped into the slot 31, it lodges be tween the shoulders at a point below the axis of the heads, being arrested by the shoulders because it is wider than the lower end of the space between the shoulders. It is thus in position to transmit rotation from one head to the other. If now the handle '25 is turned in the only direction possible,

which is the direction in which shoulder 33 presses the coin against the opposite shoulder, the opposite or complemental head 26 is simultaneously turned and the shank 22 is rotated to withdraw the latch. If handle 25 is then released the springs 35 and 1-2 return the shanks, heads, and handles to their normal positions, spring 35 holding the shoulder 32 up against the coin 31 so that the latter is retained between the shoulders. But if the handle 2-1- is turned in the only direction possible, shoulder 32 is withdrawn from the coin and the coin is released. This mode of operation satisfies the condition for which the mechanism is designed when applied to a door. The user drops the coin into the slot, pulls the handle 25 which is on the outside of the room or closet which he desires to enter, and opens the door. \Vhen opening the door from the inside the handle 24 alone is turned and thereupon the coin-controlled mechanism is put in such condition, by release of the coin, that the lock can not again be operated from the outside by handle 25 without the deposit of another coin.

It will be appreciated that in the mechanism described the shank 23 with its head 27 constitutes a driver or driving element, and the shank 22 with its head 26 is a driven member or element. In the lock combination of which this mechanism is a part in the drawings hereinbefore described, the latch bolt is the thing which is operated by the driven shaft and may be considered, so far as the broader aspects of the invention are concerned, as typical of anything which may be driven or operated thereby. The shoulders 32 and 38 on the heads are clutch elements which alone are inoperative, but which become operative when a coin is placed between them, for the transmission of power from one element to the other.

I consider that fundamentally the invention comprises the combination of driving and driven members and an interposed power and motion transmitting clutch of which the coin constitutes a part, and that such a combination may be applied to other uses than that of operating a lock or latch without departing from the invention set forth in the following claims. It is within my contemplation to apply this fundamental invention to many other uses, but I have deemed it unnecessary to show such other uses, believing that the illustration of the invention as applied to one particular use is a suflicient basis for the protection sought.

The descriptive terms used in the foregoing specification and in the following claims have been chosen with respect to their aptness for describing the particular embodiment of the invention here illustrated and not with the intention of restricting the scope of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination of movably mounted driving and driven members having a coinreceiving space between them and opposed shoulders defining the limits of such space and relatively inclined in such a manner as to cause one end of said space to be wider and the other end narrower than the coin, whereby a coin admitted to said space is caused to make contact with both shoulders, the driving member being movable so as to reduce the width of the narrower end of such space and the driven member being independently movable so as to increase the width of such end.

2. A coin-controlled mechanism compris ing a driving shaft and a driven shaft, bearings in which said shafts are respectively mounted for independent rotary movement and in substantial alinement, heads mounted on the adjacent ends of said shafts and separated sufiiciently to admit a coin between them, each head and its bearing having complemental abutments arranged to limit rotation of the head in one direction, springs acting on both heads normally holding their abutments in contact with the complemental abutments of their bearings, each head having a shoulder projecting toward the other head, and said shoulders being on opposite sides of the axis of the shafts and convergent downwardly toward one another, when in normal position to an extent such that the distance between their lower extremities is less than the diameter of the coin, and the width of the space between them at a. point intermediate their lower extremities and the aXis of the shafts is equal to the diameter of the coin, whereby a coin dropped into such space may lodge in contact with both shoulders in a position eccentric to the shafts.

3. A coin operated mechanism comprising a shank adapted to be substituted for the latch-operating shank of a door lock, a bearing in which said shank is mounted, a head.

on one end of said shank, complemental stops on said head and bearing, a spring normally acting to place and hold said shank and head in the position where said stops are in contact, a second shank having a head on its end, a bearing in which said shank is mounted in approximate alinement with the first named shank and with its head adjacent to the head of the first shank, complemental stops on the second named head and bearing, a spring arranged to hold said second head with its stop in contact with the complemental stop on the bearing, the stops of both heads and bearings being disposed as to permit rotation of both shanks in the same direction and convergently inclined shoulders on the heads at opposite sides of the common axis of the shanks.

'4. The combination with a lock, of a shank connected to operate said lock when rotated and a second shank rotatable independently of the first named shank, said shanks carrying opposed shoulders inclined to one another and defining a coin-receiving space which is narrower at one end, and Wider at the axes of the shanks than the diameter of a coin of given denomination and the first shank being movable independently of the other to withdraw its shoulder and permit release of the coin.

5. The combination with a lock, of a bolt retracting member associated with the lock and having an abutment, an operating member having an abutment, said abutments, when the members are in their normal positions, being disposed at opposite sides of the axis of the shaft and forming a coin-receiving space wide enough at one end to admit a coin and insufliciently wide at the opposite end to release the coin; said operating members in, and return them to, their normal 10 positions.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

BENJAMIN E. MORSE.

Witnesses:

WARREN C. Runs, ARTHUR H. BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratenta.

/ Washington, D. C. 

